Benwood Initiative
Rapid Reading Gains at Nine Urban Elementary Schools Prove That Excellent Teaching Means Every Child Will Learn

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Hamilton County's nine most challenged elementary schools are in the midst of a five-year initiative that aims to achieve dramatic improvements in literacy and teacher effectiveness. The effort is funded by a $5 million grant to PEF from the Benwood Foundation of Chattanooga and a $2.5 million match from PEF.

We set an ambitious goal: to have every student reading at grade level by the end of third grade. So far, the results are impressive. The percentage of third graders reading above or at grade level increased from 22.6 percent in 2001 to 35.9 percent in 2003. In both of the initiative's first two academic years, students at the Benwood schools have shown enormous gains in reading, as measured by the state's TVAAS value-added test scores. In 2003, the Benwood schools outgained 90 percent of all elementary schools in the state.

The main focus of the Benwood initiative is strong teaching. PEF-Benwood funding is used primarily to train classroom teachers in reading instruction, hire reading specialists who work with struggling readers, place a wide variety of books in all classrooms, provide coaches for new teachers, and provide leadership coaches to help principals and assistant principals guide and evaluate teachers.

Another major focus is the recruitment, training and retention of excellent teachers. PEF documented a wide disparity in the experience levels of urban and suburban teachers, mirroring a national shortage of qualified, experienced teachers in economically distressed communities. In addition to providing a variety of teacher training for all Benwood teachers, PEF has implemented the Osborne Fellows Initiative, which provides a unique opportunity for selected Benwood teachers to obtain a master's degree in urban education. Chattanooga's mayor has contributed to teacher recruitment and retention through individual and school-wide performance bonuses, housing incentives and free master's degree tuition.

Other strategies include reorganizing the school day to allow concentrated study of reading and writing, after-school and summer school programs for all students, a full-time parent involvement coordinator, mentoring programs for new teachers, and special enrichment activities for students.

After just two years, the success-in-progress of the Benwood Initiative has received national attention from The Education Trust, The Teaching Commission, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Washington Post and the Dallas Morning News.

Osborne Fellows Initiative